Still no debate set for Casey-Smith Senate race

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2012 at 6:28 PM

Less than four weeks until Election Day, Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate candidates have yet to even agree on the terms of a debate in a low-profile campaign that is being waged largely through TV ads that are costing millions of dollars.

MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG (AP) — Less than four weeks until Election Day, Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate candidates have yet to even agree on the terms of a debate in a low-profile campaign that is being waged largely through TV ads that are costing millions of dollars.

In some other states, U.S. Senate candidates are already plowing through their debate schedule.

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania said it is trying to arrange two debates between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Tom Smith, but nothing was final Wednesday.

The league has even had trouble getting responses from Smith and Casey for its voters' guide, said Bonita Hoke, who is executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.

"This has been one of the toughest years yet to get information out of people," Hoke said.

Compare that to Massachusetts, where the U.S. Senate candidates were to square off in their third debate Wednesday night. Next door in Ohio, the candidates will face each other in three debates within a 10-day span beginning Monday, while the candidates in Arizona have agreed to meet in three debates. Virginia's Senate candidates are in the middle of five debates. In Pennsylvania's hotly contested Senate race in 2010, Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey met for two debates, one in Pittsburgh and one in Philadelphia.

Hoke said she is seeking debates between Smith and Casey in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The election is Nov. 6.

Casey, the son of the late former Gov. Robert P. Casey, is a former state auditor general and treasurer who is seeking a second, six-year term. Smith is a newcomer to statewide politics who made a small fortune in western Pennsylvania's coal mining business and is largely self-financing his campaign.

Thus far, Casey has led in independent polls.

The race in Pennsylvania has largely remained out of sight in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate. It is being overshadowed by races for 11 open Senate seats, while races involving incumbents in Missouri, Montana, Massachusetts and Nevada are considered tossups.

Outside groups that are spending tens of millions of dollars to influence the outcome of Senate races also have largely avoided Pennsylvania.

Another problem that Smith may have is the likelihood that a Libertarian Party candidate with the same last name — Rayburn Smith — will appear on the ballot.